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I replayed the conversation in my head. Google, I recalled. Dialing the number back, I replayed my apology in my head. My options were slim and my presence at the graduation was riding on the assistance from the nearest shop and it happened to be the one I was dialing back. As the phone continued ringing in my ear, emotions boiled in my stomach, rising to my chest as my eyes began to prickle with fresh tears.
Everything is not okay, Mom, I admitted inwardly. It’s not.
Hadn’t it been for bad luck, I wouldn’t have any today. Since I’d opened the text, my world had begun on a downward slope without promises of peaking any time soon.
“Domino Exotic Whee–”
“I apologize. I apologize for being so harsh on the last call. I’m sorry, but I really, really need assistance and you’re the closest shop to me,” tearfully, I rushed out.
The lack of sound forced me to take a peek at my phone. Sighing, I wiped away my tears when I realized the call was still in progress.
“Hello?”
“Yeah. I’m here.”
“My tire is in shreds. I’m on the side of the road.”
“I don’t sell tir—regular tires. I don’t have regular tires here, Mommas. I’m not bullshitting when I say that.”
The edginess of his tone remained, but it had softened tremendously.
“Is there any way you can help me find a tire? I know that’s a lot to ask of a stranger, but at this point, I’m des—”
“Where you at?”
“Can—”
“Stay put.”
But you don’t know where I am, I thought as the line died again. My first instinct was to call back, but I didn’t want to become a nuisance. Instead, my body slid down the seat of my car, slightly, ending as the breath I’d exhaled did. I could feel my lips protrude from my face as I tried settling my nerves.
“What is life right now?” Frantically, I shook my head from one side to the other. “Dad, you can jump in at any point now.”
Over the last six years, I was certain they had their hands in the elevation of my world. Now that the blanket had been snatched from me, my world felt as cold as it did four years ago and my main task was to figure it out all over again. After years of everything unfolding perfectly, the change was like a fresh band-aid being ripped from my hairy arm.
“At any point.”
I closed my eyes, not from exhaustion but from overwhelm. Attempting to reduce the stress that was building and grab ahold of the situation at hand I began envisioning the life I was planning for instead of the suffering I would endure beforehand. Scrubs covered my body, gray, as I hovered over a large binder, marking my patient’s stats.
The vision progressed as time did. And it wasn’t until the bass of a stereo forced my eyes apart that they disappeared. Tiny hands and toes vanished in an instant. I searched for the origins of the thunderous sounds.
Left. Right. Front.
Behind me, I concluded.
The sound was coming from the black truck behind me that had pulled over into the emergency lane as well. Panic-stricken, I glanced at the lock on my door, confirming the smidgen of security that I had access to. For an extra layer, or possibly to appease the nerve endings that were splitting by the second, I pressed the button on the door to make sure all the doors were locked.
Through the rearview, my eyes danced, hoping to get a glimpse of the man who would probably be the death of me. My eyes bounced from my cell to the mirror. The numbers were typed by the time he evaded my line of vision and strolled toward my car.
You watch way too many murder documentaries, I chastised. Considering the amount of peace they brought me after a long night of studying, lectures, and labs, the thought was incredibly active. As a part of your relaxation routine, nonetheless.
I pushed my thoughts aside and stared straight ahead, afraid to look my defendant in the eyes. He wouldn’t get that satisfaction out of me and he wouldn’t be able to confess with those memories at the forefront of his investigation.
Where are you? I questioned, dropping my head and erasing the three numbers I’d pressed. With trembling fingers, I accessed my call log to locate the number I’d dialed twice before.
KNOCK. KNOCK.
“Oh shoot,” I squealed, my left hand landing near my heart. The sudden motion nearly forced it out of my chest. Simultaneously, my finger tapped the number on the screen, initiating a call.
